Well I switched browsers and I see what all the fuss was about with the ads. Lol.

I was using Firefox before and today I am trying out Google Chrome and the site looks different! Now I'm seeing posts from PlantedTank that are inserted in the threads inbetween posts with sponsored links.

I'm also seeing animated banners that expand over images if you hover on them. The small banners are located at the bottom of the images.

I went into my preferences and checked "Block third party cookies and site data" and it seems like these things are gone since I've refreshed. Give it a try. I will keep you posted if this doesn't seem to be a solution.

Well I switched browsers and I see what all the fuss was about with the ads. Lol.

I was using Firefox before and today I am trying out Google Chrome and the site looks different! Now I'm seeing posts from PlantedTank that are inserted in the threads inbetween posts with sponsored links.

I'm also seeing animated banners that expand over images if you hover on them. The small banners are located at the bottom of the images.

I went into my preferences and checked "Block third party cookies and site data" and it seems like these things are gone since I've refreshed. Give it a try. I will keep you posted if this doesn't seem to be a solution.

I did finally get a couple screenshots of the insurance ads and another one as well. As far as this being a result of my search habits, I can assure you I have never searched for insurance or the farmer thing, or whatever it was, in order to be receiving them from here. They are just random and show up. Just shouldn't be advertising them here on an aquarium website, period!

why I am suddenly getting ads for cars and Master Cards on here instead of just frogs and aquarium stuff...Hmmm And they must be random, bc I have not looked up cars or credit cards on the internet in my life. Can't they keep the ads planted aquarium owners-specific? Would have no problem with those. Oh, after I posted this I got one for M & Ms. Really? I have pay as you go wireless since I live in a rural area and don't like my money being taken up by ads that have nothing to do with aquariums. Ask Amano to chip in for some ads. He can definitely afford it.

I think it's a great thing that a big company can own a hobby site, make money and get most of the daily tasks taken care of for free by it's members. lol

Hey fresh.salty,

We are here to make things run more smoothly for the community. You probably noticed no changes since we have been here, and that's the way we plan to keep it.

We did have a small issue recently with the logins and we quickly moved the site over to a more dedicated server to handle the volume. This was crucial as Black Friday and Cyber Monday are coming up and many members have mentioned how much more busy it will be.

This place is always growing and we have the resources to help the site grow and stay strong.

why I am suddenly getting ads for cars and Master Cards on here instead of just frogs and aquarium stuff...Hmmm And they must be random, bc I have not looked up cars or credit cards on the internet in my life. Can't they keep the ads planted aquarium owners-specific? Would have no problem with those. Oh, after I posted this I got one for M & Ms. Really? I have pay as you go wireless since I live in a rural area and don't like my money being taken up by ads that have nothing to do with aquariums. Ask Amano to chip in for some ads. He can definitely afford it.

Hey Koi,

The advertising at the top of the forum is always geared towards the community. It's actually a place for community members to advertise products and services that would benefit the plantedtank and its members. You will only see advertising pertaining to this hobby up there.

The advertising on the bottom of the forum is selected using various equations, of which one is your browsing history. Other examples are the time of the day you get on (for example, you might see coffee advertisements during the early morning).

As you can see, the ads are very small and we try to make it so that it is not obstructing you from the forum

I know things change and that's just part of life and I am not implying the ads at the bottom must stop.

One thing the old administration always tired to do here was keep the forum running smoothly and did things to keep the clutter down and tired to ensure that pages loaded quickly and smoothly.

I myself, and I'm sure a great deal of my fellow hobbyists, use smart phones to use this forum. Waiting for the animation to load on my phone is killing me. Is there anything that can be done help with waiting on the animation to load?

It might be helpful (to you guys, the forumadmin team) to have us be able to address a specific person about a particular problem. And (speaking for myself) you guys might come off as a bit more personable - and less like another faceless corporate identity - if your separate personalities could be assigned to individual usernames.

I do appreciate that you guys often tag your posts with your individual names

The advertising at the top of the forum is always geared towards the community. It's actually a place for community members to advertise products and services that would benefit the plantedtank and its members. You will only see advertising pertaining to this hobby up there.

The advertising on the bottom of the forum is selected using various equations, of which one is your browsing history. Other examples are the time of the day you get on (for example, you might see coffee advertisements during the early morning).

As you can see, the ads are very small and we try to make it so that it is not obstructing you from the forum

Hope that explains it,

Mo

Hey Adam, What is the excuse for advertising an obvious democrat-liberal ad? What makes you think that I or anyone else for that matter support the democratic party? Is it safe to assume that it's alright to talk politics now?

This is a "Planted Tank Forum" correct? Many here were reprimanded in the nicest way I may add and warned about expressing political views however on the front page you blatantly have an ad that goes against the rules. We were specifically told that we cannot post or talk about anything having to do with politics. Here is a capture of the ad in question:

Now I know for a fact that I have no browsing history because I browse in private mode however if, as stated above,

"The advertising on the bottom of the forum is selected using various equations, of which one is your browsing history."

I was being track it would be in no way, no how have anything to do with Michelle Obama & Elizabeth Warren (it hurts just typing their names) or the Democratic Party. Is this what is to be expected from now on? Indoctrinate much, push your personal political agenda/views much?

I'm basically asking, is it going to be one sided? If so there are many other Planted Tank forums that make it a joy to visit as opposed to being insulted by such an offensive political ad that's forced down our throats. Way to be objective PetGuide or should I say verticalscope. This is a "Planted Tank Forum" not a place to push your political agenda.

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